


The Rant on Bows in the Hobbit Films

by HSavinien



Series: Nonfiction: Medieval Weapon Rants and Bullet-pointed Infodumps [1]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Archery, Battle, Bows & Arrows, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Gen, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-13 11:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16891644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HSavinien/pseuds/HSavinien
Summary: A response, detailing basic info on various kinds of bows and their uses.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In response to 
> 
> philliptunalunatique:  
> | this isn’t a fucking competition, bard.

I…I recognize the joke, but these are _totally different_ kinds of bows, each with its own benefits and suited to its user. 

Bard’s using a longbow. 

  * Longbows are _awesome_ and take a fuckton of regular practice to use, because the muscle strain required to be a longbowman(/woman) actually deforms the arms and back of the user. 
  * “Bard the Bowman” is still known by that sobriquet even though he’s low status, his family’s life and profession changed when the dragon attacked.  Why would he be called that, if not that he’s still in regular practice and people see him using the thing over and over and over? 
  * Longbows are less-damaged by damp than composites, being made of once single piece of wood rather than layers of material, which is handy if one lives in the middle of a freaking lake.
  * The longbow changed the face of warfare in real life, esp. for England.  They’re effective killing machines over long distance, even against armored enemies. 
  * Conclusion: Bard’s a tank-muscled distance shot used to fighting with good sightlines.



Legolas and Tauriel use recurve bows, albeit in different styles.

  * Legolas’ looks like a Turkish bow, though I don’t recall seeing him use a thumb draw (which is not mandatory if you’ve got super strong elf-fingers, I guess).
  * Tauriel’s looks to be a Scythian composite bow by the shape.
  * Composite recurve bows are much easier to use in confined spaces and at odd angles. 
  * They have been historically used by folks who specialize in archer tricks like multiple arrow shots (a thing we have seen Legolas do). 
  * Because of the curves, composites pack heavy draw weight (the factor that determines with what force, i.e. how fast and far, the arrow will travel) into limited space.
  * Short draw (the distance you have to pull back the arrow to shoot it) means a quicker release time and quicker time to get your next arrow on the string.
  * Legolas and Tauriel fight in a forest, not know for long sight lines or easy travel, nor for enemies who can be seen coming.  They need weapons that won’t be getting caught on a bush at an inopportune time. Likewise, you see fewer spears and longswords among the elves of the Greenwood.
  * Conclusion: Legolas and Tauriel are guerrilla fighters from a heavily-forested territory and their weapons reflect that.



Kili also uses a composite recurve bow.

  * For practical purposes, note that Kili has significantly shorter arms than any of the other archers here mentioned. Long draws, like on Bard’s longbow, are not feasible and that means he’s not going to get the power he is capable of producing.
  * Dwarves are fucking strong, all right?  That wee little bow looks very like the Mongolian horse-bow in size and shape that my friend used with a draw weight of 55 lbs.  (I’m not a weakling and I can draw 35 for a decent length of time when in practice).  Kili’s could easily be upwards of 75-100 lbs.
  * Kili’s a hunter.  Likely, his main concern with a bow (when not following his uncle on an inadvisable quest) is the procurement of dinner for his family.  To do that with a bow you need to be very quiet or very quick on the draw.  Dwarves are not known for being super-quiet, though I believe I remember something about Fili and Kili being better at that than is typical.
  * Anything that can kill a deer can probably kill a person (or an orc).  That little horse-bow can easily kill or maim.
  * Conclusion: Kili is a hunter. He uses a bow that allows for the production of a lot of power at short notice and is suited to his size and strength.



Bigger is not always most effective.  Your medieval weaponry rant has concluded for the day, unless someone wants to talk to me about swords.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous: Everyone's been asking about swords but I'd like to shift it towards bows again...

Hokay, so, despite the original rant, I’m not a bow expert by any means.  But I do have a few more things I can think of off the top of my head:

  * Crossbows. I freaking love crossbows.  They were a fantastic invention that allowed the production of more power with less effort. Instead of drawing them with one arm outstretched, you put your foot into a stirrup and use both hands to draw the string back behind a little notch ‘til you’re ready to fire.  Or some of them have a little gear system that you crank to draw the string back.  Very clever.  It does mean that it’s very very difficult to fire more than once unless you’re standing on solid ground, preferably behind cover.  There was a [Chinese multi-shot crossbow](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arco-iris.com%2FGeorge%2Fchu-ko-nu.htm&t=Njk1MDA5ZTY1ODJkZmIyZWJlZTAyM2QzZTg4OWIyNWQ3ODZjMzJjMSxNbUYwSTFLZA%3D%3D&b=t%3AAbM2GQelIABrceH_cxJ4Yw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhsavinien.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F107375177187%2Feveryones-been-asking-about-swords-but-id-like&m=0) [in real life](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atarn.org%2Fchinese%2Frept_xbow.htm&t=NDIyOWFhMDRmZTBiZDI4OWViODQxNDYwYmIwOTIyYmYyM2QxN2FhOCxNbUYwSTFLZA%3D%3D&b=t%3AAbM2GQelIABrceH_cxJ4Yw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhsavinien.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F107375177187%2Feveryones-been-asking-about-swords-but-id-like&m=0), but every example besides that which comes to mind is from not only a fantasy setting, but one that’s already proven that it doesn’t care about physics (see: Shrek 2, Van Helsing).  Other repeating crossbows, like the Greek polybolos, were all large weapons that needed to be mounted on something solid, not carried by hand. DEFINITELY cannot shoot multiple times from horseback without tossing my suspension of disbelief out a large stained-glass window.  Excellent weapon for defending a castle from invaders, though, and a crossbow requires a helluva lot less training to use effectively than a longbow, for example.

  * Longbows I talked about a bit in the first post, but one of the things that wasn’t applicable to Bard’s situation was the most effective use of archers in war, which is RAIN OF ARROWS starring a whole lotta archers shooting all at once. You can do this with most bows – actually, the elves did it in BotFA, which was cool – but with longbows, you can do it from really freaking far away. Which means several volleys of arrows before the enemy gets close enough that the archers either need to retreat or switch to a different weapon.  In Hobbit-related facts, ****MINOR SPOILERS**** you’ll notice that Thranduil’s Mirkwood elves who besieged Erebor were using longbows.  They were in war-mode rather than using the shorter bows that Legolas and Tauriel were using as their weapons while on scout patrol in the forest.****END SPOILERS****

  * Most W. European (and Native American, I think) archery techniques involve drawing the string back to the cheek or ear with two or three fingers wrapped around the string, holding the arrow in place. (Use a leather or appropriately sturdy substitute finger-guard.  I’m not kidding, you’ll tear up your fingers.)  This is not universal. A lot of Middle Eastern and Asian bows (and the Byzantines and Romans, if you like that time period) use/d [a thumb ring](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atarn.org%2FFAQ%2Fthumbring.htm&t=N2E2OWEyMzY1MTllMjViY2ZlMGZhZDMyNDdmMmUzNzViNTRiYWZhMyxNbUYwSTFLZA%3D%3D&b=t%3AAbM2GQelIABrceH_cxJ4Yw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhsavinien.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F107375177187%2Feveryones-been-asking-about-swords-but-id-like&m=0) to [catch the string and pull it back](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fanthromuseum.missouri.edu%2Fonline%2Fthumbring%2Fthumbring.shtml&t=Mzg5MDc2ODA2NjEwNGViOGM4MDViZGU3ZTQwYzFhNGZkZjI1MWIwMSxNbUYwSTFLZA%3D%3D&b=t%3AAbM2GQelIABrceH_cxJ4Yw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhsavinien.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F107375177187%2Feveryones-been-asking-about-swords-but-id-like&m=0).  Some styles have the archer pinch the end of the arrow directly rather than pulling on the string, which is common for arrows without nocks.  Japanese longbow archery - kyudo - pulls the string all the way back past the back of the head.




That’s all I’ve got for now.  Was there something else about archery you were interested in?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> asparklethatisblue:  
> hi, I just saw your very informative post about the bow and arrows used in the Hobbit, and I wonder what you think their shooting range might be? Thank you! :')

Eehhh, that’s tricky.  It’s suggested that at the height of their use, longbow archers could shoot up to 400 yds.  Modern estimations range more in the 270s as an upper effective limit.  From modern testing, they suggest 200 yds. if you wanted to punch through light-medium grade armor, 100 for solid plate armor.  But that’s with archers starting training at age 7 and the physical deformation of the spine and back that I mentioned in the first post.

With the other bows I actually have no idea, since I don’t know how strong - what draw weight - they’re supposed to be.  A 60 lb. horsebow can shoot over 150 yds., though power is obviously diminished at full range, if that’s a useful starting point for you?  Mostly they aren’t intended as as long distance a weapon as the longbows are.  The target’s usually going to be more in the 30 yd. range and be super-dead when they get hit.


End file.
